Always
by Andi-Professional Daydreamer
Summary: This was written for 2 Challenges as specified inside . A three- shot Starring one of my favorite non canon pairings. Charlie W./ N.Tonks.
1. Birthdays and wishes

A/N: I do not own any of the characters seen here. They are the sole property of J.K. Rowling. This was written as a combination of two challenges. mew-tsubaki's Valentines day happens year round challenge and ConstellationxSirius's Don't take the girl Challenge. Hope it turned out well enjoy.

EDIT : Has now been Updated. Thanks to the Fabulous Beta work of _ Bree-utiful _ . :D

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'_We can only hate the person whom we love.'_

**_..._**

"It will be fun Dora," her mother said as she fussed over the nine-year-olds mass of rather unruly bright red hair with a wet comb.

"No it won't mommy, please." Tonks responded her arms crossed stubbornly over her chest.

"But you love playing at Molly and Arthur's. Plus, it's little Charlie's birthday party and he invited you to come," Andromeda said, looking at her daughter who grimaced at the mention of the second Weasley boy. She sighed. "Dora, it would be rude not to go. He's your friend."

Tonks shook her head. "No, he isn't, mummy," she said.

In fact, she and Charlie had been sworn enemies since day one. That overly freckled little monster always teased her, or scared her, or pulled her hair, or something that would make her appearance change, then laugh about it. Plus, whenever they were forced to be outside together while the adults 'had grown-up talks', he would never let her play with them. .

"Don't make me go mum, he's a-" What had daddy called people who made him angry again? "A prat. That's what he is," Tonks said, looking at her mother imploringly.

"Nymphadora Tonks, that is enough," Andromeda frowned. Tonks winced at her full name. "Young ladies do not behave this way. You will go to little Charlie's party and you will have fun." Tonks pouted. "And will you please cheer up so I can actually comb your hair?" she added.

Tonks sniffed resolutely.

**…**

"But Mum, I don't want her to come," nine-year-old Charlie Weasley said as he followed his mother about the house, watching her set up dragon themed party decorations with a flick of her wand. "She's weird," he added.

"She is your friend Charlie and she is coming to your party," Molly sighed, having heard her sons complaints all morning.

"But its _my party_," Charlie frowned. "And she is a _girl_. _Girls_ can't come to _dragon_ parties." He folded his arms over his chest stubbornly.

"Yes, they can," Molly said, turning to her son. "Ginny is coming."

"Ginny doesn't count," Charlie shrugged.

"She's a girl," Molly pointed out.

"No, she isn't, she's my sister," Charlie said.

Molly sighed, kneeling down so she was eye-level with her second son. "Charlie, how would you feel if Nymphadora had a party and didn't invite you?" she asked.

"I wouldn't mind mum, honest. She would probably have some frilly princess party anyway," Charlie said.

"Oh, nonsense," Molly frowned. "Charles Weasley, Nymphadora is coming to your party and you will be nice to her. She is your guest. Now go play with your brothers." She turned back to her decorating, muttering something about raising gentlemen and not brutes.

**...**

Here we are," Andromeda said, as they apparated outside of the Burrow. She set Tonks on her feet and turned to her frowning daughter. "Now, Nymphadora, I want you on your absolute best behavior." She handed her Charlie's gift to hold. Tonks wanted to chuck it across the yard.

"Yes mum," Tonks answered, looking at the rather tall slightly lopsided house. It was already noisy with sounds of children and faint music.

"Now smile, like you're happy to be here," Andromeda said.

Tonks put on a smile and was then lead to the Weasleys front door. She watched her mother knock and took a deep breath.

Soon, Molly Weasley opened the door and smiled.

"Oh wonderful. You made it," she said. "Charlie, Nymphadora and Andromeda are here!" After a moment without a response, Mrs. Weasley turned to them and smiled. "He must not have heard me, he's been running about playing games all day. Please, come in and I'll go get him." As she invited them in, she took the gift, sitting it among the others before walking through the kitchen and to the back.

Tonks could have sworn she heard her say, "Charles David Weasley, get in here now!"

...

Charlie Weasley was steered into the sitting room by his mother. "See, Charlie, Nymphadora and Andromeda are here. Say hello," she said, smiling though he knew she meant _'say hello or else.'_

"Hello," Charlie said, smiling at Andromeda, but not so much at the purple haired girl holding her hand. He winced when his mother gave his shoulders a squeeze. "Thanks for coming," he said to Tonks .

Tonks looked at him for a moment and then winced back... weirdo, just like he thought. "Thanks for inviting me," she answered.

"Why don't you two go outside with the rest of your friends? Andromeda and I can bring out the cake," Molly said giving Charlie a warning look.

"Okay," Charlie sighed. "Come on then," he added to Tonks, heading towards the back.

Tonks let go of her mothers hand and followed him, tripping over the rug in the process.

Charlie rolled his eyes.

"_Charlie_," his mother said, looking at him sternly.

Charlie sighed and helped her up. "Are you okay?" he asked tightly.

Tonks frowned at him.

_"Dora," _her mother said._  
_

"Yes. Thank you," Tonks answered, tightly back.

Charlie sighed and lead her out the door into the backyard.

**...**

Tonks looked around the crowded Weasley back yard. There were nothing but boys everywhere, except for Ginny who was with Ron, playing in a pile of snow. Meanwhile, Fred and George chased Percy around with what looked like a frozen garden gnome. Bill and a couple of boys she recognized as Keagan Gray from down the road and Frank Thomas, her next door neighbor, were having a rowdy looking snowball fight on the other side of the yard.

""There are party hats over there," Charlie said, pointing to the table they had set up with decorations and party favors. "They didn't have pink dragon designs so mum changed it for you."

There was indeed a pink dragon designed party hat sitting on the table. She walked over to get it and put it on, the rubber band accidentally smacking her cheek. "Ow," she muttered, rubbing it.

Charlie snorted. "Ginny put hers on better than you and she's two," he said.

"Oh, shut up," Tonks frowned.

"Who's gonna make me?" Charlie said, cocking a crimson eyebrow.

" Overly freckled jerk -"

"Overly freckled? You're the one with the weird hair -"

"Weird hair?" Tonks demanded angrily. "I -"

"Alright kids! Gather 'round!" Molly said, coming outside with a large dragon-shaped cake floating in front of her.

Andromeda went to gather Ron and Ginny as the cake was set on the table.

Tonks made sure she sat as far away from Charlie as possible, but in her haste not to sit on the side of bench as him, she ended up directly across from the boy instead, while they sang happy birthday.

"Make a wish, Charlie," Molly said, smiling.

Charlie smiled and looked around the table before his eyes landed directly on Tonks. She rolled her eyes at him, thinking, _'Hurry up already!_' But she didn't dare say it aloud as her mother was near.

Charlie smirked before closing his eyes and blowing out the candles.

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A/N: This was only part one to a three part series. I would appreciate Reviews as they are what drive me to continue multi-shots . Thank you so much for reading .

-Andi


	2. Terrible plan

A/N : Okay , so here is Part two to the story or Charlie and Tonks. Theres a lot more dialog than the previous chapter but I hope youenjoy :) again A big Thank you to Bree for being a wonderful Beta :D thank you for reading and please Review. - Andi

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'_A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become Superfluous'_

_Unknown_

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_

Seventeen-year-old Charlie Weasley sat on his porch, observing the backyard of the Burrow quietly.

Tomorrow would be the day that he would go off to work in Romania on the Dragon Reserves, and today was the day of his going away party.

The party had started a few hours before and a lot of people were there to see him off. Charlie had tried to have fun reminiscing with his family and friends, but he wasn't in much of a mood to celebrate, especially without the friend he cared about the most being there.

He had managed get through the party, but once things had began to settle down and all the guest were gone he found himself brooding with an untouched butterbeer sitting at his feet.

Over the years, Charlie had grown to like having a pink-haired teen, Tonks, around. At Hogwarts, they had became good friends, partnering in lessons, exploring the Forbidden Forest, hanging out Hagrid, and getting detentions together.

She was a lot more fun to be around than he initially thought. She had became his best friend and, quite frankly, the most beautiful young woman he knew. He'd miss having her around because... he loved her.

But today Tonks couldn't be there. She had started her Auror training earlier that summer so she was busy training that day. He understood that completely, but he couldn't help but be a little sad he wouldn't see her for months, maybe even a year.

"Charlie," his mother said, coming onto the back porch.

"Yes mum?" Charlie asked.

"Tonks is here to see you," Molly answered.

Charlie's mood lifted immediately. "Really, she came?" he asked, standing and turning around.

He smiled when he saw Tonks standing next to Molly, her hair bubblegum pink and wearing a white t-shirt with the Ministry of Magic emblem on it. She had a four pack of cola bottles in one had and a jumbo bag of their favorite muggle sweet, Haribo rings, in the other.

"You didn't think I'd let my best friend leave without getting a chance to say goodbye, did you?" Tonks smiled, walking over and hugging him.

He hugged her back tightly. "Of course not."

**...**

Tonks stretched as she sat on the grass of the Burrow's backyard. Charlie sat next to her with two empty coke bottles and a quarter bag of Haribo rings between them.

They had just finished a heated debate on who was the greasiest staff member of Hogwarts. It was either Snape or Filch, and had come to the agreement that overall Snape's inky mane was indeed harboring the most oil of the two, before the conversation turned to more recent topics.

"So how did your training go today?" Charlie asked Tonks.

Tonks smiled. "It went pretty good. We had a bit of stealth training. My instructor said that I was a natural," she said proudly.

"The floor must've had incredible traction to keep you from falling," Charlie said, nudging her playfully.

"Not a speck on the ground, Tonks laughed, before hitting his shoulder, "and I'm not that clumsy, you know."

Charlie snorted in disbelief, then smiled at her. "That's great Dora. I'm really glad you're enjoying your training."

"Thanks, Chuck, but what about you?" she asked, sipping her cola. "I know you're excited to go to Romania tomorrow."

"Yeah, I am," Charlie said, nodding.

"You'll finally be able to lust for giant lizards in the open," Tonks laughed, "among fellow Lizard Luster's like yourself."

Charlie chuckled and said, "I don't lust over dragons, I'll just be working with them."

"Hey, if that's what you call it now a days, I'm not one to judge," Tonks joked, giggling. "Just be sure to write me when you find yourself in love. I want to hear all about that special lizard."

Charlie didn't respond so she looked over at him. He was slowly chewing at a candy ring he had on his finger, staring at his scuffed up converse.

"Chuck?" Tonks said. "I was only joking, you know. I know your not literally into dragons -"

"Yeah, I know," Charlie said, nodding and still staring at his shoes. In the moonlight, she could see the faintest of color rise on his cheeks.

Tonks furrowed her eyebrows, never knowing her friend to be so sensitive. It was weird. "Well… sorry," she said.

Charlie shook his head. "It's not what you said. I just… Dor, what do you think about us?" he asked suddenly, looking at her.

It was Tonks turn to blush. "Well… what do you mean?" she asked.

"Like are we… friends or…" Charlie trailed off, he didn't have to finish his sentence for Tonks to get his message.

Tonks thought about this. Sure, she had grown into wanting the freckly redhead sitting next to her around. They had become the best of friends, even resulting in her harboring a crush on him since her fifth year, but it was a little too late to actually do anything about it.

Charlie was leaving the country the next morning, and her mother always told her long distance relationships never work, and neither do the kind where friends became lovers. They would fight and break up, then the sheer awkwardness of the situation would destroy the friendship that may have been previously held. She wouldn't risk that.

So sure, Tonks liked Charlie, loved him even, but with him leaving off to Romania and her priorities here in England, they had to only be friends. But when she relayed that to Charlie, his forehead got a tiny crease in it and his eyebrows knitted together the way they always did when he was confused.

**...**

"So you do love me…?" Charlie asked, confused. He looked at the pink-haired girl who was now avoiding eye contact with him.

"Yes," Tonks nodded.

"The same way I love you?" Charlie added slowly, watching her.

"Uh-huh," Tonks nodded, sipping her cola.

Charlie went quiet then shook his head and said, "Then I don't see what the problem is."

"You're my best friend." Tonks said, looking at him as though that explained everything.

Charlie simply looked at her, waiting for a explanation.

"We just can't date. What if we end up breaking up? Then we can't even be friends," Tonks said.

"Says who?" Charlie asked, frowning.

"The majority of people who -" Tonks started, but she was cut off by Charlie bursting into laughter. She frowned. "What?"

"Since when have you and I been apart of the majority?" he asked.

Tonks hit his shoulder. "Shut up! That's not the point," she said.

"You're losing me, Dora. I don't get why we can't be together if we love each other," Charlie said, frowning. He ran a hand through his hair.

"Because I care too much about our friendship to ruin it by dating," Tonks explained.

Charlie shook his head and sighed, sitting back. He was getting ready to give this up as a lost cause, when he got an idea. He turned to Tonks, grinning.

"What?" she asked, raising a pink eyebrow.

"Well, while were talking about the theories of the majority, I have one of my own," he said.

"What's that then?" Tonks asked.

He could sense irritation in her voice, but went on anyway, "Well, people say you know you're meant to go out with someone by the feeling you get during a kiss."

"It didn't go like that," Tonks said.

"Well, it's something like that," Charlie said, shrugging. "So kiss me. Kiss me so we can tell if it's even right."

"What? No!" Tonks exclaimed, shaking her head at the smiling redhead.

"Why not? If we see sparks or whatever,then we should be okay to date long distance and if we don't, then we can act like this conversation never happened," Charlie said, sitting up straighter.

"Because - Just, no, that's a terrible plan," Tonks said.

"Aw, c'mon, Dora, just one kiss," Charlie said, scooting closer. "A quick peck, that's all."

"No," Tonks said, shaking her head. She got up, heading for the back door. "I'll just be going then."

"Coward," Charlie snorted, shaking his head and sipping his soda.

"Excuse me?" Tonks said, turning back to him.

"Cow-ard," Charlie said. "No wonder you didn't get into Gryffindor. I mean, I know Hufflepuffs aren't the bravest bunch but running away from a simple challenge? That's down right snaky." He put his bottle down and stood up.

Tonks felt her scalp tingle as her hair changed to red. "I am not snaky! I just don't want to kiss you," she lied. She would have  
liked to in all honesty, but no. She was going to stick to her guns with this.

"Why not?" Charlie asked, crossing his arms and going over to her, a few inches away.

Tonks glared up at him. "Because we're friends, Charlie, and friends absolutely do not -" She was cut off by a pair of lips firmly pressing themselves against hers.

Her first instinct was to slap him silly but instead, her eyes fluttered closed and her knees weakened. The arms around her waist stopped her from collapsing completely. When he finally pulled away, Tonks opened her eyes again. "- kiss," she finished in  
a whisper.


End file.
